Lidstrom named vice provost for research

Mary Lidstrom, professor of chemical engineering and of microbiology, and holder of the Frank Jungers chair of engineering, has been appointed vice provost for research, effective Nov. 15, Provost Phyllis Wise announced.

Lidstrom is currently associate dean for new initiatives in the College of Engineering.

“Mary Lidstrom’s own stellar research program and her long experience in leading interdisciplinary research, as well as her leadership in educational innovation, position her well to lead the UW’s Office of Research,” Wise said. “She is also very aware of our increasing responsibilities in the regulatory and compliance arenas, and is well-placed to oversee these extremely important aspects of the Office of Research.”

Lidstrom succeeds Craig Hogan, who will return to his faculty position as professor of physics and astronomy after ensuring a smooth transition in the Office.

“Sponsored research at the University of Washington is now almost a billion-dollar-a-year enterprise,” Wise said. “Well over half of this activity is research in the life sciences, broadly defined. It is clear that significant opportunities for research initiatives at the UW in coming years will be related to the area, in which we already have great strengths.

“In light of these potential opportunities, Craig Hogan and I have agreed that the University would be best served by a new senior research officer with a background in the life sciences to help shape and lead these new initiatives.”

Lidstrom received her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Oregon State University and her master’s and doctorate in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin. She was a Leverhulme postdoctoral fellow in microbiology at the University of Sheffield and has held academic appointments at the UW, in the Center for Great Lakes Studies in Milwaukee, and in environmental engineering science at the California Institute of Technology.

“Like all great universities, this one is in a mode of continual improvement,” Lidstrom said. “We are in a good position now, and we are poised to move to the next level. I’m very happy to be a part of that effort, and excited to join the provost’s team.”